Member Avatar for mikenott@gotads

Well, I have tried everything I know and I can't sort this one out, so thought I would ask for help.

Have an up and running Asrock 1333 HD mobo. quad 6600 cpu and 2mb crucial RAM on Vista 64 bit. It works fine. I am happy with it. But then I added a Compro videomate E800 tv card in my only PCI-E slot. It just slips in and no extra power supply needed. On boot up, no BIOS prompts on screen - just a blank screen with "no signal being received". Take E800 out of PCI-E slot and it boots fine. Grrrrrrrrr.

What have I done:

1. Updated BIOS
2. After rebooting, cleared CMOS
3. Taken out Nvidia GE Force 8600GT video card and now running on on-board graphics.
4. Checked seating of PCI-E card. It is in as far as it will go.
5. Double checked no power socket on PCI-E card. There isn't one.
6. Green LED on E800 shows that mobo is capable of running wake-up from mobo.
7. I do not have another machine with a PCI-E slot.
8. Checked AMI BIOS and found setting"Power for PCI" and enabled.
9. Looked at all other BIOS settings, but nothing jumps out.
10. Set default video device to "on-board" as now testing without GE Force 8600GT in place.
11. Made sure I always powered down fully and disconnected power, waiting for LED's to dim before adding/removing card.
12. Tried it with and without "wake up to record prog" connections on E800 connected and not connected.


It should work. But it doesn't. And it is really getting up my *r**.

Any suggestions gratefully received. Something is happening when teh TV card is plugged into teh PCI-E slot that is affecting the video out to the monitor. But I don't know what it is.

Thanks for reading. Even better if you have a suggestion :)

Michael.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by stuck4

Dani AI

Generated

This looks like a platform-enumeration problem rather than a dead card. Reports from and show the same symptom — inserting the PCI‑E card stops video before POST — which usually points to one of three things: slot/electrical mismatch, BIOS option‑ROM / IRQ/resource conflicts, or power/rail limitations on certain boards.

Recommended diagnostic checklist (in order of impact):

  • Confirm the exact PCI‑E lane wiring in the motherboard manual (which slots are wired x16/x8/x4/x1). Some boards treat non‑GPU slots differently or disable lanes unless certain conditions are met.
  • Try a different physical PCI‑E slot (if present) and boot with a minimal system (one RAM stick, no other add‑in cards). Monitor must be connected to the adapter that BIOS is set to initialize.
  • Inspect BIOS settings: set the primary display/init display first to the correct device (Onboard vs PEG/PCIe), set “Plug and Play OS” so the BIOS assigns resources (if present), and look for options to disable unused option ROMs or force PCI‑E link speed to Gen1/Auto. Clear CMOS after changes.
  • Decode the beep codes via the motherboard manual — 1 long + 3 short usually means video init failure on many boards.

Notes and cautions:

  • Many TV/tuner capture cards include an option ROM that runs at POST; older or simpler BIOSes can mishandle multiple option ROMs and prevent the primary VGA from initializing. BIOS updates or vendor firmware/ROM updates can help but flashing carries risk — use only official updates.
  • For add‑in GPUs, confirm PSU 12V rail capacity and required auxiliary connectors; fans spinning doesn’t guarantee adequate current. If the card works in another PC but not the target board, vendor/motherboard compatibility or a firmware fix is likely; an exchange or alternate card form factor (PCI/another model) is a practical fallback.

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Member Avatar for DenisOxon

Suggestion - take card back to shop - sounds as if it is faulty.

Denis

Member Avatar for stuck4

Well you are not alone. I am trying to install an ATI 2600 PRO (pci-e) in an ASUS pv4800d-x board and I get the same response. The new PCI-E card does not show up in device manager (when booting with the old card and the new one both installed). If booting with just the new card, blank screen, one long beep and three short ones.

Note that I have exchanged the card for a new one and the results are exactly the same.

I suspect possibly the PSU (only delivers 18 amps on the 12v line, the card should have about 24 amps) or possibly the slot on the main board is non-functional.

Other miscelaneous info: the fan on the 2600 pro runs, so its getting some power. Also, if you boot with no video cards, you also get the one long and 3 short beeps.

And, like you, if I go back to the old card, the PC runs fine.

Have tried:
- reseating the card
- reinstalling the o/s
- resetting the bios (remove battery, switch jumper for 10 secs)

Unfortunately I have no other board to try the card in.


My setup:
o/s: vista
mobo: asus pv4d800d-x
ram: 512 Kingston (Asus approved model)
old video card: ati 9250 (pci)
new video card: ati HD2600PRO

Member Avatar for mikenott@gotads

My frustration became so bad, I took the card back to the shop where I bought it. It worked right first time on a vista 64 bit machine. :'(

A couple of things I learnt in nthis process were:

1. Not all PCI-E slots are teh same. You need to check it is teh right type.
2. Compro videomate cards are susceptible to IEQ conflicts. My (brand new) Asrock Quad 1333 HD board had no facility in teh BIOS to resolve such conflicts. I think thi si why I had so many problems.

Ended up swapping the E800 PCI-E for an E750 PCI card. Worked first time.

Michael.

Member Avatar for stuck4

Hi Michael...I'm pretty much a newbie at this stuff. Can you tell me a bit more about the card being "the right type" please. BTW... I seem to recall an IRQ setting related to the video in the BIOS but I haven't messed with it yet. I'll give it a try. However, I suspect that maybe I need a new BIOS from Asus - perhaps they have not allowed for such a new card being installed on an older board such as mine. When I thought about it, it acts the same as when you put a hard drive in that the BIOS is not ready for. It just ignores it.

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